Messi took advantage of another through ball from Villa to score his second of the evening with a wonderful scooped finish before Raul Tamudo pulled one back for Rayo with his first touch after coming on as a substitute.Cesc Fabregas was preferred to Thiago in the absence of Xavi and the former Arsenal captain very nearly created the opener after just six minutes as he raced onto Villa's pass and chipped the ball perfectly beyond goalkeeper Ruben Martinez into Messi's path.But with an open goal to aim at he slipped at the crucial moment and allowed a crowd of Rayo players to get back and block his path to goal.However, there was some bad news for the hosts as Adriano limped off with a hamstring injury in the first-half and will miss the Champions League quarter-final ties with Paris Saint-Germain.Messi made up for his previous miss with a brilliant touch to take him clear of the Rayo defence before teeing up Villa to finish first time into the top corner 14th goal of the season.And Rayo's willingness to press high up the field was similarly caught out for the second goal as this time Villa controlled a long ball forward and fed Messi to score for the 18th consecutive league game.Villa should have made it three just before the break as his shot flashed across goal from Fabregas' pass and Alves was desperately unlucky to see his powerful effort from close range come off the inside of the post minutes after the restart.Without the injured Xavi and Carles Puyol and suspended Victor Valdes, Barca assistant boss Jordi Roura started with pretty much his strongest side despite their exertions in midweek and was rewarded with a strong display
No comments:
Post a Comment